Not Advisable

An East Side theft victim retaliates by shooting the thief.

The original alleged crime took place on a bus on the East Side when two louts snatched a chain from the neck of another man. The first victim followed the thief off the bus, and apparently shot him.

Police examined video images from the bus surveillance cameras and released several of the images in hopes that someone would contact them with information about the shooter.

"The suspect being sought may have been the victim of a theft and followed a young man from the bus," said police spokesman Tom Walsh. "Soon after, one shot was heard."

Police don't believe that the shooting victim and the suspect knew each other before boarding the bus. Tuesday's development was the first hint at a back story.

The "victim" was just the kind of guy we love to share a city with, of course:

In the footage, the pair are seen craning their necks and apparently sizing up the passenger seated ahead of them, the source said. The two also are seen passing a gun between them, the source said.

One of the two is then seen grabbing the man's neck chain and running off the bus and out of camera range, with the theft victim following behind.

The man believed to be the thief was then shot in the side, just below his arm, and the shooting suspect fled on foot.

The police are looking for tips:

Walsh said he understands that some people may be reluctant to call with information about a theft victim turned shooter.

But police hope they ask themselves an important question, he said: "Is a gold chain around your neck worth killing someone over?"

Sgt. Walsh - an excellent office whom I've known for years - is doing his job. You don't want people shooting people over petty thefts. And I'll bet dollars to donuts the shooter has a rap sheet, too (although I'm sure Rebecca Thoman and Robert Lillehaug will try to blame this on the Minnesota Personal Protection Act).

But maybe if enough of the scum that plague our city did die trying to grab gold chains (illegal as that is, and as utterly as it violates Minnesota law regarding self-defense), or if a few drive-by shootings were answered with hails of fire from nearby houses, or if the next gang shootout were met with a line of citizens with automatic weapons sweeping across the street killing every gang-banging piece of sh_t in their path and then disappearing into the dark, unseen by the law-abiding, beleaguered citizens in the nearby houses...

...never mind. I must need more coffee. Have no idea where that came from.

Take a carry permit class. Get a permit. Learn the laws of self-defense.

Posted by Mitch at August 23, 2006 06:29 AM | TrackBack